Select Regions

Braid creator's new game sneaks into PAX

Jaz McDougall

Sep 07, 2010

Page 1 of 10

The Witness, a first person puzzle game coming from the creator of Braid, was secretly on display at PAX. It sat running on a machine without banners, leaflets, or reps, and anyone who felt compelled to play it could sit there for hours at a time. Many did. One was journalist Stephen Totilo, and he had his camera with him.

From a small team of developers led by Jonathan Blow, The Witness is about exploring a mysterious, abandoned island and solving puzzles to unlock new areas. Details until now have been sporadic - nothing for months, then two thousand words on how they built the lighting engine, and never anything on the plot or the nature of play. This is the first real information on what this game will be like.

It's an early alpha, which seems to be what developers say now when they're
showing off their gorgeous footage
. It looks great. The lighting is fantastic. It's got a sort of maze puzzle recurring throughout, and, like Braid, it ramps up the complexity naturally as you encounter puzzles.

Community:

Magazine:

PC Gamer is the global authority on PC games. For more than 20 years we have delivered unrivalled coverage, in print and online, of every aspect of PC gaming. Our team of experts brings you trusted reviews, component testing, strange new mods, under-the-radar indie projects and breaking news around-the-clock. From all over the world we report on the stuff that you’ll find most interesting, and gives your PC gaming experience the biggest boost.